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Annie
One second, I’m in Kitty’s exuberant embrace, being welcomed home with those increasingly familiar sucker-kisses to the cheek. The next, Baron is suddenly beside us, roaring like a Barbarian ransacking Rome as he punches the poor kraken hard enough to send reverberations echoing through all three of the tentacles holding me off the porch.
A startled whimper echoes from deeper inside the house, where the rest of Kitty is safely ensconced in the pipes, and my heart twists in my chest. But then I’ve always been able to stomach my own pain far more easily than the suffering of the people I love, and Kitty has quickly squirmed her way into my heart.
“Stop!” I shout, throwing out an arm to block Baron’s next punch as I cling to Kitty’s tentacle with the other. “It’s okay, Kitty, I’m all right,” I insist as she tries to drag me into the house, clearly wanting to protect me from the furious vampire on the front stoop.
“Drop her,” Baron bellows.
“Baron, seriously, stop,” I say as he pulls his muscled arm back, winding up for another blow. “Kitty’s Blaire’s familiar! And my friend. She was just welcoming me home. She’s not hurting me, I promise.”
He freezes and so does Kitty, though her tentacles continue to tremble around my waist.
“Oh, I…” Baron’s arm falls to his side as he clears his throat. “I didn’t realize… I thought…”
“I can guess what you thought, but everything is okay.” I stroke Kitty’s arm again. “This was just a big misunderstanding.”
“Clearly,” Baron says stiffly. “I apologize Kitty. Deeply and sincerely.”
Kitty reaches a tentative limb his way. Baron glances down, frowning at the tentacle before he takes it in both hands and gives it a gentle squeeze.
“There, all better,” I say, patting Kitty. “Why don’t you go inside and see if we have any blood in the fridge, Kit? I’m sure Baron would like a drink after all the excitement. And I’d love a slice of your carrot cake.”
Kitty releases me with a cheery bellow and wooshes back into the house. A moment later, the whale-like song of a happy kraken singing while she works echoes through the now quiet air.
“Is that…” Baron trails off with a deeper frown.
“Rockstar by Smash Mouth,” I say with a shrug. “She was really into jazz, but now she’s on a late nineties pop kick. Blaire’s mortified, but she totally had a boy band phase when we were kids so…” I swallow, aching to wrap my arms around Baron, hug him close, and tell him how much I appreciate his protective instincts, even if they were misplaced this time around. But his stiff, guarded body language makes it clear a hug wouldn’t be well-received, so I settle for a smile. “Thank you. For making sure I got home safely.”
His scowl claws deeper into his forehead, until his expression would be comical if I weren’t so desperate to make him forget his stubborn determination not to fall in love with me. “I was on my way to fetch supplies from the estate. I happened to see you being attacked on my way past and thought I should intervene. But since you’re not in need of assistance, I’ll be on my way.”
“Oh, I’m in need of assistance,” I say before I can think better of it. But after six weeks of dreaming about being alone with him again, I can’t bear to see him go just yet. I have to know if he’s been as tormented by our separation as I’ve been. And his possessive behavior tonight has me feeling bolder than I did before.
I shift closer, adding in a softer voice, “I have a rather serious problem, in fact.”
He arches a brow. “What’s that?”
I pull in a deep breath, gathering my courage before I confess in a breathless whisper, “I can’t stop thinking about s-e-x. I always thought people were exaggerating about how incredible it was, but…they weren’t.” My nipples tighten against the soft cotton of my bra. “They really weren’t…”
The muscle in his jaw twitches. “Then you should take a lover.”
I cock my head, my eyes still locked on his. “Really? You want me to be with another man?”
“It’s none of my business who you take to your bed,” he says in a strained voice that gives me hope he finds the idea as repugnant as I do. “But stay away from Colin. And the other vampires in town. You won’t be safe with any of them.”
“I was safe with you,” I remind him, silently willing him to remember how perfect it was between us, to remember the way we both had tears in our eyes because being together felt so honest and wonderful and right.
“Just because you dodged a bullet once doesn’t mean you’ll do so again.” He takes a deliberate step back. “I suggest you forget that night ever happened. As I have.”
“Oh yeah, Mr. Grumpy?” I challenge with an arch of my brow. “I may not have much experience with this kind of thing, but I don’t think men who have ‘forgotten’ about a woman usually follow her home or cause a jealous scene in a bar, do they?”
His eyes narrow, but after a beat he murmurs, “No, they don’t. I’m weaker than I’d prefer, which is another reason you should stay away. All I can offer you is pain, Annie. That’s the truth, and sooner or later, you’d come to hate me for it.”
“I could never hate you,” I whisper.
“You should. It’s what I deserve. If you knew what I’d done, who I really am…” He trails off with a tight shake of his head. “I should go.”
I reach out, taking his hand and holding tight when he tries to pull away. “No. You shouldn’t. You should come inside, have a drink, and talk to me. We all make mistakes, Baron. But we all deserve mercy and second chances, too.”
